Speaking Out! 5/11/10
The blueprint on school bill
There has been a lot of discussion and activity around the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The Senate HELP Committee has been holding hearings, and the Department of Education and Department of Health and Human Services have been hosting joint listening and learning tours about early learning in the ESEA throughout the country. Last week, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions requested comment from Voices for America’s Children on early learning. Voices also stirred discussion on the importance of emphasizing learning initiatives for the very young when member Pennsylvannia Partnerships for Children testified at a field hearing in Bucks County recently.
On May 4, the Obama administration released reports summarizing research that supports the recommended blueprint for the reauthorization of ESEA. The research categories include:
- College-and Career-Ready Students PDF (749K)
- Great Teachers and Great Leaders PDF (920K)
- Meeting the Needs of English Learners and Other Diverse Learners PDF (662K)
- A Complete Education PDF (1.17M)
- Successful, Safe, and Healthy Students PDF (891K)
- Fostering Innovation and Excellence PDF (840K)
The outlines can be found online.
The blueprint can also be found online.
Projection of national education job cuts for 2010-11 school year released
A recent survey revealed that 275,000 education jobs are in danger of elimination for the upcoming 2010-2011 school year. This translates to 92 percent of jobs that were saved by the stimulus package, according to the American Association of School Administrators. More than half (53 percent) of school districts will freeze hiring and 82 percent of districts will reduce or abolish 27,516 education jobs including 14,878 teacher jobs. The findings were released on May 4, 2010.
S.3206: A bill to establish education jobs
The above findings make a resounding case for the support of S.3206, the Keep Our Educators Working Act of 2010. This bill was introduced by Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Chair of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The bill requests $23 million in emergency funding for education jobs and is co-sponsored by 25 Democratic senators.
George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, expressed appreciation for Harkin separating the provision for teachers from a larger and broader House jobs bill (HR 4812).
Harkin has indicated that the Senate “will be pushing hard” for this legislation.
Study shows children suffer when families have to choose between health care and bills
Children’s Health Watch recently issued a report concluding that the health of children is put at risk when families are forced to choose between care and basic necessities. In interviews with nearly 6,500 low-income caregivers of children from birth to 3 years of age, 5 percent of the interviewees indicated that they had to make trade-offs to pay for medical care. These trade-offs included cutting food budgets and not paying bills. With family budgets cut to bare necessities, children lived at greater risk of health problems, hospital visits, and malnutrition.
May is National Fitness Month
As part of the president and first lady’s effort to get Americans healthy, May has been designated National Physical Fitness and Sports Month. During this month, the president has challenged every American “to make physical activity, fitness, and sports something they try to do every day, whether it’s playing on a softball team, training for a race, walking the dog, or working in the garden.”
